ࡱ> -/,U@ bjbj .&&&& 2 JJJJJJJJ$ R\JJJJGGG"JJGG0GwwJ> `f& w0w0 "0 w0 w J0z"G+JJJDD1 Government of Canada to improve pilot safety in Jasper National Park JASPER, ALBERTA, March 14, 2008--On behalf of the Honourable John Baird, Minister responsible for Parks Canada, and the Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, Mr. Rob Merrifield, Member of Parliament for Yellowhead, and Mr. Brian Jean, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, today announced that a decision has been made in regards to the Jasper airstrip. The Government has concluded that decommissioning the airstrip would increase pilot risk and create legal uncertainties regarding the status of the airstrip. Accordingly, the airstrip will be re-listed in the National Park Aircraft Access Regulations. The Jasper airstrip will be maintained for emergency and diversionary landings as well as recreational use. Commercial use of the airstrip will continue to be prohibited. Unpredictable weather in the mountains, and the possibility of an urgent emergency landing in this difficult terrain warrants the re-commissioning of the Jasper airstrip, said Mr. Merrifield. This decision removes the legal ambiguities surrounding the airstrips and improves pilot safety in the mountain national parks. An independent Air Safety Risk Assessment commissioned by Parks Canada found that the proposed Jasper airstrip decommissioning and reclamation project will have a [negative] impact on aviation safety. The Government of Canada is not prepared to accept this level of risk, said Mr. Jean. We are also taking the necessary steps to ensure the health and safety of local residents and Canadians. The Government of Canada will initiate the appropriate regulatory, environmental assessment and other processes to re-list the airstrip. This action will allow Parks Canada to maintain the facilities appropriately and in compliance with relevant Transport Canada regulations to improve pilot safety. Ff^ k Ͻh5el!h5elh5elB*OJQJ^Jph#h5elB*CJOJQJ^JaJph)h5el5B*CJOJQJ\^JaJphh5elh5elB*CJaJphhJ5+B*CJaJphFgd5el  gdJ5+,1h/ =!"#$% @@@ NormalCJ_HaJmH sH tH X@"X 5el Heading 2 d@&[$ 56CJ"OJQJ\]^JaJ"DAD Default Paragraph FontRiR  Table Normal4 l4a (k(No ListF00F<0  8#9#,:#lWe9*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagsplaceB*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagscountry-region8*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagsdate 1420083DaylsMonthtransYear >HEE  Michel HelljnaultJ5+5el@f@@UnknownGz Times New Roman5Symbol3& z Arial;& z Helvetica"qhsæsæ&&$r43H)?5elDGovernment of Canada to improve pilot safety in Jasper National Park Michel HelljnaultOh+'0 0 @L h t EGovernment of Canada to improve pilot safety in Jasper National Parkaove Michel HellichichNormalHjnaultH2auMicrosoft Word 10.0@Ik@G@6&՜.+,00 hp  COPAe{ EGovernment of Canada to improve pilot safety in Jasper National Park Title  !"#%&'()*+.Root Entry F듑0Data  1TableWordDocument.SummaryInformation(DocumentSummaryInformation8$CompObjj  FMicrosoft Word Document MSWordDocWord.Document.89q